A Good Day's Work - an Iowa Farm in the Great Depression (Dwight W. Hoover, 2007)

Another very interesting read centered in rural Iowa in the Depression. Unusual that two books like this (the second being "Little Heathens - summarized here) were published about the same time. Like "Little Heathens," this one had great reviews in the Wall Street Journal and nytimes.com.

I was looking forward to reading this quite a bit, but in the end I must say I liked "Little Heathens" better. This guy was just a bit too clinical. Plus he spent lots of time discussing livestock, 4H and other topics to which I had very limited exposure.

That being said, I much enjoyed the book. The author is writing about a very different time, but much of the talk is familiar and certainly triggers recollections of conversations I heard growing up. As with "Little Heathens," it is striking how rapidly the world of agriculture changed in a very short window of time. This is not a new insight, but the pace of agricultural change for centuries was minimal, then things picked up moving into the 20th century, now an entirely different world . . .

The Overcoat and other short stories (Nikolai Gogol, 1835, 1836, 1842)

Patricia had taken this book out of the library because "The Overcoat" is mentioned in a movie we've rented ("The Namesake"). So I read the four short stories.

I like Gogol's stuff. (And his book "Dead Souls" is the first book listed on this website.) The Overcoat is a sad satire of an anonymous clerk who doesn't have much of a life, lacks cash, and is the butt of jokes at his one social outlet - his job at the ministry. They laugh about his worn-out coat (call it "the mantle"). The thing finally falls apart to where he must buy a new one - but it requires 80 rubles. After scrimping for six months - and anticipating the new coat through consultations with his tailor and window-shopping material - he finally gets the coat. Everyone praises the coat. But things don't turn out so well.

The Thin Red Line (James Jones, 1962)

I really didn't know a thing about this book or the author, but definitely would highly recommend it. Jones also wrote "From Here to Eternity," which now is on my to-read list.

This is a fictionalized account of WWII fighting in Guadalcanal. I'll never know what war is like, and am sure that's a good thing. But one wonders. This kind of book tries to convey the feeling. Reminded me of the feel of The Red Badge of Courage.

Jones takes a large number of characters in "C for Charlie" company as they arrive at the island. Takes us through the process of getting used to the climate and terrain, killing time in camp, the initial battles, the fear and paralysis experienced by many, the unexpected bravery - or just orneriness in many cases - shown by others. The first battle scene is wonderful. Interesting perspectives on leadership.

I haven't seen the movie (filmed in 1998). The cast has a huge number of what are now household names: Sean Penn, Woody Harrelson, Adrien Brody, John Travolta, Nick Nolte, James Caviezel, John Cusack, John C. Reilly, George Clooney. I need to see this.

Little Heathens - Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm during the Great Depression (Mildred Armstrong Kalish, 2007)

This book had very strong reviews in the Wall Street Journal and nytimes.com. So I gave it a try. And liked it quite a bit.

As the title spells out in detail, the author grew up on an Iowa farm in the 1930s. She became an English professor and certainly has both an excellent memory and a good writing style.

Here in 2007, stories of a kid growing up in the Depression seem to describe a long-lost era. My major take-away from the book was the similarities - not the differences - between the author's world and the world in which I grew up in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It actually only was 30 years prior to my own childhood.

I'm guessing the similarities arise because my world was populated by characters who were adults in the 1930s - my grandparents and their peer group - and another set of characters - my parents etc. - who were shaped by preceding generation. So when this author talks about saving everything - down to pieces of string and bits of foil - I can relate. And when she describes the advice from her elders about never wasting time and the folly of idleness - I can relate. And the gardening stories. And the respect for elders. Also little things like the description of the smell of the green walnuts they harvested.

Of course there have been big changes in mechanization - both in the ag operations and in the farm house. And these have drastically altered the daily routine as described by the author. But much of the underlying attitude persisted.

Goya (Robert Hughes, 2003)

I read at this at the gym and much liked it.

Biographies like this are great in part because it's a unique centering for a description of the history around the subject of the biography. I'm starting to pick out more biographies like this (along the lines of the Tolstoy biography discussed here (September 4, 2006 entry); just took out one on Goethe).

Goya lived a long time and saw lots. You read a lot about the high level of repression in Spain over the centuries (including the Inquisition, which was winding down around the time Goya came around). Anyway, this seemed to lead to about the backwardness you'd expect once they'd kicked out the Muslims and Jews - and more progressive Christian folks also just left, especially after the frustration of the reforms hoped for after Napoleon's ejection. Goya himself left Spain in his old age and died in France. What a society.

Anyway, Hughes goes through Goya's early days trying to make his way out of the provinces and into Madrid (which was pretty much backwards also). He thrives, has commissions from royals and other important folk. Had a wife but never wrote about her; rumors of mistresses but nothing very compelling. Liked bullfighting. Painted some unusual subjects.

Then along came Napoleon. Hughes says the native response was the first modern guerrilla war, which may be true, who knows. The activities and tone certainly seemed like a pretty good precursor to the 20th century Spanish civil war. One of the most famous Goya works ("3rd of May") commemorates the Napeolonic struggle. It was interesting to read the Spanish perspective on this, different than the Wellington biography from a few years ago.

Goya became deaf, took on the Inquisition (but subtly). There is a Hollywood biography named "The Naked Maja" which tries to build on the mistress thing.

It was interesting to read in the paper a couple weeks ago about the expansion of the Prado in Madrid (and the extent of its collection); it was built in Goya's time but certainly not for an art museum.

Remembrance of Things Past (Vol 1-2) (Marcel Proust)

Another famous work that I haven't previously had (or taken) the opportunity to read. I understand that a better translation of the title would be "In Search of Lost Time." It's about memory. I'm reading the French Pleiade edition translated by C.K. Scott Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin.

The book generally prints at around 3,200 pages, I understand. It was written by Proust over numerous years in seven volumes. The translation that I'm reading placed the first two volumes in one book that runs 1,030 pages. So this seems like a good point at which to take a breather. I've now made my way through Volumes 1-2: "Swann's Way" and "Within a Budding Grove."

Proust is an interesting character in his own right, you can read about him here.

I don't know quite how to describe his writing style. Some elements - 1) he goes into long descriptions of virtually everything he encounters; 2) he goes into rhapsodies over things he appreciates or in which he finds beauty (hawthorn); 3) he has an incredible knack for observing - and describing - human nature; 4) it makes you think about how much of each person's world is tied up in the person's unique perception of what he or she is experiencing (recognizing this is also a hoary philosophical problem).

I'm hoping that the reader can learn something about human nature, especially my own, and a thing or two about slowing down and appreciating the beauty around me. Proust is quite good at this, though I don't think it's his primary intention.

Swann's Way includes the famous scene where the narrator bites into a madeleine (a trigger for memory).

I'm noticing now that Proust is referred to constantly in other literature (not to mention "Little Miss Sunshine"), including a book of Iowa reminiscing that I'm reading right now.

Swann's Way: life at Combray (long walks; elderly relatives; the author's room and goodnight to mother); Swann's relationship with Odette; Vanteuil (the sonata; his wretched daughter); the Verdurins (social climbers; also associated with Odette; gatherings of "the faithful"); Gilberte (Swann's daughter; first love).

Within a Budding Grove: staying at Balbec with grandmother; the "little band" (including Albertine); Elstir (the artist); relationship with Saint-Loup.

The timeline of the story moves back and forth, with different characters appearing in different stages.

I definitely want to own a copy of this book, it should not be missed. More to come.

The Aeneid (Virgil, 29-19 B.C. (Robert Fagles translation)

Somehow I have never gotten around to reading this. It was surprisingly enjoyable and worked well for reading on the stairmaster.

Some thoughts:

1. This work definitely is part of the traditional canon; references to it pop up all over the place. For example, it's been mentioned within the last couple days in the two other books that I have in process.

2. The foreward was helpful in explaining Virgil's purpose - basically he was writing something that put the founding of Rome and its empire-building and law-giving in a heroic aspect. He built directly on, and borrowed from, Homer. He also used the underworld visit as a device to praise the top political figures of his day.

3. Dido was a really strong character.

4. The underworld scenes are fascinating and seem to cover what I know of most religions' key elements of the afterlife. I don't know that much about Dante but he seemed to borrow very heavily from this (I do recall Virgil was even his guide as he passed through the underworld).

5. The battle sequences are full of graphic violence. Now I'm thinking this year's surprise hit movie of ancient warfare ("The 300") - which I avoided because I thought it would be too violent - may have been consistent with Virgil's descriptions.

6. He emphasizes piety and interaction with the gods as the key to Rome's success.

Robert Spring and a Whole Lot of Friends (Katzin Concert Hall, September 9, 2007)

The ASU faculty and student recital season ends in late April, so we were glad to see things starting up again. We went to a concert featuring a clarinet player. The guy (Robert Spring) has an effective personality and is quite the showman. The first half of the program involved some brand new compositions, including one piece (Chamber Concerto #2) where the composer was present for its premiere. It involved violin, viola, cello, percussion. I was ok with it, PJ not so much.

The second part of the concert involved the clarinet guy and piano accompaniments.

Very much worth the trip down, it's very nice to have access to live music like this.

Paddy Whacked - The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster (T.J. English, 2005)

This book turned out to be very interesting, and not only because it discussed my wife's grandfather's gangster behaviors (he's shown below on a page with his business competitor, Al Capone). It's helpful in understanding how the Irish came to be disproportionately represented in politics, police and fire departments, etc., which in turn helps explain how in the 20th century it came to be "cool" to be considered Irish, why St. Patrick's day became a big deal in the U.S., ensuing marketing and merchandising, etc. (I've actually wondered about this ever since attending ND.)

Anyway, my take is that the Irish arrived in the U.S. in the wake of the potato famine at a time when the major urban centers were growing to critical mass along the size parameters with which we're familiar today. The author explains that many of the Irish were used to organizing underground in relation to their English overlords, and transferred this skill set to the U.S. Overt vote-buying via taking care of neighborhoods; ability to run criminal enterprises by the critical combination of controlling key politicians, police and judges.

The Italians came along and eventually took over the criminal side of things, but deferred to the Irish as a practical matter in controlling government and political posts. The Irish had demonstrated great skill in this - plus they spoke English much better.

One element is the high degree of prejudice that the Irish experienced - which is interesting to think about in light of current immigrant issues. The prejudice caused them to band together, and also freed them to pursue activities that were, let's say, outside the mainstream.

It seems that these groups were incredibly effective at running criminal activities, including a very high (and increasingly public) level of "vice" activities that were being gotten away with (because of paid-off cops and judges). This led to a backlash - various anti-corruption efforts culminating in Prohibition in 1919. Which completely backfired.

I didn't really think of how Prohibition gave these gangsters access to the really big money. Overnight, a product with national demand was outlawed. Who better to fill the demand than the only well-organized criminal gangs? It seems that Prohibition gave the groups a scope and cash-generating capability that would have been beyond their imaginations a few years earlier. In turn this led to more aggressive warfare among gangs.

This was the period in which Spike O'Donnell turns up, fresh out of jail from a bank robbery in 1926 and instigator of beer wars for several years. Too bad, the author gives him little space in the book; describes Spike as "an established pick-pocket, burglar, labor slugger, and killer (he was twice tried for murder and accused of several others), Spike was also a religious man who rarely missed Sunday Mass at St. Peter's Catholic Church." Also notes the usual, i.e. that he was the first target of a Thompson submachine gun (or "tommy gun") in the beer wars, favored polka-dot ties and a felt fedora, survived at least 10 attempts on his life, etc.

Anyway, it's all very interesting, including stories about how Joe Kennedy made stacks of money running booze in the Prohibition (and how this leads to the theory of mob involvement in the JFK assassination); how the phrase "slip a mickey" came out of Mickey Finn's place in Chicago, where folks were regularly robbed with this technique; how Hollywood glamorized the Irish gangster via stars like James Cagney; how "On the Waterfront" was based on a true story of corruption on the docks. Etc.

Ghost Soldiers (Hampton Sides, 2001)

This book covered a pretty amazing WW II story about which I knew nothing - the rescue of 500 or so survivors of the Bataan death march who were held at Cabanatuan prison camp on the Philippine island of Luzon.

The book gave the background on MacArthur's departure, the surrender at Bataan, the march to captivity, etc. Lots of detail on the maltreatment of prisoners by the Japanese - but I liked that the author seemed pretty balanced in this portrayal, not just out to demonize the captors.

The stories about surviving years in prison were really interesting. The book also talks in detail about the Ranger unit that accomplished the rescue (Colonel Mucci, Captain Prince, etc.).

The author also spends a fair amount of time describing the role played by the Philippine guerrillas in support of the Rangers - things wouldn't have turned out well without these folks. Even down to the water buffalo carts used to transport the freed prisoners to safety (many of whom were unable to walk).

Stalingrad: The Infernal Cauldron (Stephen Walsh, 2001)

I never get tired of reading about the battle of Stalingrad. It's pretty hard to imagine a more dramatic setup, let alone how the battle itself played out. I very much liked a previous book on the battle, which was moreso focused on the individual in the context of the battle, the suffering on both sides, etc. (see post of November 28, 2006).

This book seemed interesting mostly for the pictures, but also provided a really valuable overview of the context of the battle, and the context of the battle within the overall war. More detail about placement and movement of individual units - which is not of great interest to me, and is too complicated to follow anyway. I did like the explanation of the way the Germans tried to use encirclement techniques, and the "deep operation" theory of the Russians (which I didn't understand much). Also Stalin's interference and blundering in the early days (compounded by his 1930s purge of the officer corps).

But the overall discussion was interesting and very helpful in putting the pieces together for this part of the war. And the photos are great.

Ulysses (James Joyce, 1918)

I read this in part because it keeps showing up on lists of the "greatest novels of 20th century," sometimes as high as number one. I made it all the way through 800+ pages because I kept thinking something was going to happen. One day in Dublin (June 16, 1904). Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom. The book is full of literary allusions (most of which unfortunately are lost on me). It is modeled after Homer's epic of the same name (which would be of more interest if I knew that story better). The stream of consciousness stuff is fun for awhile - it makes one realize how much of time our minds are working just that way. Completely different writing styles in each chapter. Extremely clever.

Suite Francaise (Irene Nemirovsky, 1941)

This book is really unusual, though in large part for reasons the author (Irene Nemirovsky) would not have anticipated. Nemirovsky was a Russian of Jewish descent who had lived in France for quite a few years with her husband (Michael Epstein) and their two children. All were Catholic, the children were French citizens.

Nemirovsky lived in occupied France following the Nazi roll-over of the French army in June 1940. During the occupation, she conceived the idea of a five-part story describing the flight from Paris, life in an occupied town, etc. She finished two parts (or at least had handwritten manuscripts).

These were dangerous times for folks like her, and eventually she was sent to Auschwitz, where she died shortly thereafter.
One of her daughters found the manuscripts in a suitcase a few years ago, and the book was published.

I didn't think the book itself was all that great, though who knows how it may have worked if it had been completed. The part about the occupied town seemed almost idyllic. I did find interesting her description of the way that French soldiers - in the aftermath of WWI - weren't all that anxious to knock themselves out just a few years later in WWII.

The most compelling parts - and they are compelling indeed - are the two appendices. Appendix I - a series of notes - discusses her goals and insecurities for the novel. Appendix II consists of correspondence generated in trying to get her out of Nazi custody. Her family was pretty well connected and they tried everything. Including looking for snippets of anti-Bolshevik or anti-Jewish text in her books, and trotting out a letter of recommendation from billeted Nazi soldiers.

Her husband eventually volunteered to take her place in the camps, which was impossible. Anyway, he was caught up and also died in the camps within months.

Appendix I made you feel like you knew the author, her fears, uncertainties, plans. Appendix II is heartbreaking.

Anniversary

This website is now one year old.

An Illustrated History of The First World War (John Keegan, 2001)

As can be quickly told from looking at the list of books during the past year, I don't ever get tired of reading about World War I. (I also like Keegan's stuff, including this book.)

Keegan is a British war historian who is a good writer and knows lots about WWI. I took this book off the shelf for the pictures, but the overview of the entire war, pretty much all theaters, turns out to be highly useful.

But the photos make the book. I had never seen the vast majority of these. Going from the early days of optimism, through the trenches, through end of war, up to the cemeteries and memorials erected worldwide. The photos are stunning, and bring the written materials to life in a way that easily justifies the "worth a thousand words" cliche.

This war was simply amazing. It's been summed up far better than I can hope to do. The unbelievable trench system in the West; centuries-old empires breaking down; emerging airplane and tank technology; poison gas; 19th century infantry tactics against entrenched machine guns; millions of artillery shells altering landscapes; a devastated populace left behind in most countries, and an amazingly quick trip into WWII. Etc. Wow.

Take a close look at Otto Dix's triptych for one post-war German look at things. Or read this book.